During construction, clients and staff were relocated to the Ratonga Rua-o-Porirua campus at Kenepuru Hospital in Porirua. They will be transferred to the Wellington unit tomorrow.

Capital and Coast board member Helene Ritchie said the ''long overdue'' refurbishment took more than a decade of campaigning.

She described the transformation of the unit as "fantastic''.

"There is much light, much open space, attractive outdoor spaces, space for physical activity, music and other therapies, places to sleep, places to find refuge. The unit is visually open to the surrounding neighbourhoods and the feeling is one of participation with the 'outside' world, rather than one of being closed off.''